# What is the first law of thermodynamics?

Learn what the first law of thermodynamics is and how to use it.

## What is the first law of thermodynamics?

Many power plants and engines operate by turning heat energy into work. The reason is that a heated gas can do work on mechanical turbines or pistons, causing them to move. The first law of thermodynamics applies the conservation of energy principle to systems where heat transfer and doing work are the methods of transferring energy into and out of the system. The first law of thermodynamics states that the change in internal energy of a system delta, U equals the net heat transfer into the system Q, plus the net work done on the system W. In equation form, the first law of thermodynamics is,
delta, U, equals, Q, plus, W
We have to be very careful with the first law. About half of textbooks, teachers, and professors write the first law of thermodynamics as delta, U, equals, Q, plus, W and the other half write it as delta, U, equals, Q, minus, W.
Both equations are correct, and they say the same thing. The reason for the difference is that in the formula delta, U, equals, Q, plus, W, start subscript, o, n, space, g, a, s, end subscript, we are assuming that W represents the work done on the system, and when we use delta, U, equals, Q, minus, W, start subscript, b, y, space, g, a, s, end subscript we are assuming that W represents the work done by the system.
The two different equations are equivalent since,
W, start subscript, o, n, space, g, a, s, end subscript, equals, minus, W, start subscript, b, y, space, g, a, s, end subscript
When work is done on a system, the work done adds to the internal energy of the system (hence the plus sign in delta, U, equals, Q, plus, W, start subscript, o, n, space, g, a, s, end subscript). When work is done by a system, the work done takes away from the internal energy of the system (hence the minus sign in delta, U, equals, Q, minus, W, start subscript, b, y, space, g, a, s, end subscript).
We're going to use the equation delta, U, equals, Q, plus, W, start subscript, o, n, space, g, a, s, end subscript with the plus sign on the work since that's the one used by the College Board AP physics 2 exam. This means that when we write W, we will mean work done on the gas
Here delta, U is the change in internal energy U of the system. Q is the net heat transferred into the system—that is, Q is the sum of all heat transfer into and out of the system. W is the net work done on the system.
So positive heat Q adds energy to the system and positive work W adds energy to the system. This is why the first law takes the form it does, delta, U, equals, Q, plus, W. It simply says that you can add to the internal energy by heating a system, or doing work on the system.

## What do each of these terms ($\Delta U, Q, W$delta, U, comma, Q, comma, W) mean?

Nothing quite exemplifies the first law of thermodynamics as well as a gas (like air or helium) trapped in a container with a tightly fitting movable piston (as seen below). We'll assume the piston can move up and down, compressing the gas or allowing the gas to expand (but no gas is allowed to escape the container).
The gas molecules trapped in the container are the "system". Those gas molecules have kinetic energy.
Yes. Gas molecules can also have potential energy. Although we typically neglect the small change in gravitational potential energy due to the small changes in height of the gas in a container, a diatomic molecule like O, start subscript, 2, end subscript can have a potential energy associated with the oxygen atoms vibrating toward and away from each other, somewhat like two masses connected by a spring. This vibration "mode" of energy is typically not significant until temperatures get much higher than room temperature. At room temperature there simply isn't enough energy to get the atoms in a diatomic molecule to vibrate much.
Since most of the energy of a gas at reasonable temperatures will be in the form of kinetic energy, we can think of changes of internal energy as mostly being changes in the kinetic energy of the gas molecules (i.e. larger U means faster moving gas molecules).
The internal energy U of our system can be thought of as the sum of all the kinetic energies of the individual gas molecules. So, if the temperature T of the gas increases, the gas molecules speed up and the internal energy U of the gas increases (which means delta, U is positive). Similarly, if the temperature T of the gas decreases, the gas molecules slow down, and the internal energy U of the gas decreases (which means delta, U is negative).
It's really important to remember that internal energy U and temperature T will both increase when the speeds of the gas molecules increase, since they are really just two ways of measuring the same thing; how much energy is in a system. Since temperature and internal energy are proportional $T \propto U$, if the internal energy doubles the temperature doubles. Similarly, if the temperature does not change, the internal energy does not change.
One way we can increase the internal energy U (and therefore the temperature) of the gas is by transferring heat Q into the gas. We can do this by placing the container over a Bunsen burner or submerging it in boiling water. The high temperature environment would then conduct heat thermally through the walls of the container and into the gas, causing the gas molecules to move faster. If heat enters the gas, Q will be a positive number. Conversely, we can decrease the internal energy of the gas by transferring heat out of the gas. We could do this by placing the container in an ice bath. If heat exits the gas, Q will be a negative number. This sign convention for heat Q is represented in the image below.
Since the piston can move, the piston can do work on the gas by moving downward and compressing the gas. The collision of the downward moving piston with the gas molecules causes the gas molecules to move faster, increasing the total internal energy. If the gas is compressed, the work done on the gas W, start subscript, o, n, space, g, a, s, end subscript is a positive number. Conversely, if the gas expands and pushes the piston upward, work is done by the gas. The collision of the gas molecules with the receding piston causes the gas molecules to slow down, decreasing the internal energy of the gas. If the gas expands, the work done on the gas W, start subscript, o, n, space, g, a, s, end subscript is a negative number. This sign convention for work W is represented in the image below.
Below is a table that summarizes the signs conventions for all three quantities left parenthesis, delta, U, comma, Q, comma, W, right parenthesis discussed above.
delta, U (change in internal energy)Q (heat)W (work done on gas)
is plus if temperature T increasesis plus if heat enters gasis plus if gas is compressed
is minus if temperature T decreasesis minus if heat exits gasis minus if gas expands
is 0 if temperature T is constantis 0 if no heat exchangedis 0 if volume is constant

## Is heat $Q$Q the same thing as temperature $T?$T, question mark

Absolutely not. This is one of the most common misconceptions when dealing with the first law of thermodynamics. The heat Q represents the heat energy that enters a gas (e.g. thermal conduction through the walls of the container). The temperature T on the other hand, is a number that's proportional to the total internal energy of the gas. So, Q is the energy a gas gains through thermal conduction, but T is proportional to the total amount of energy a gas has at a given moment. The heat that enters a gas might be zero left parenthesis, Q, equals, 0, right parenthesis if the container is thermally insulated, however, that does not mean that the temperature of the gas is zero (since the gas likely had some internal energy to start with).
To drive this point home, consider the fact that the temperature T of a gas can increase even if heat Q leaves the gas. This sounds counterintuitive, but since both work and heat can change the internal energy of a gas, they can both affect the temperature of a gas. For instance, if you place a piston in a sink of ice water, heat will conduct energy out the gas. However, if we compress the piston so that the work done on the gas is greater than the heat energy that leaves the gas, the total internal energy of the gas will increase.

## What do solved examples involving the first law of thermodynamics look like?

### Example 1: Nitrogen piston

A container has a sample of nitrogen gas and a tightly fitting movable piston that does not allow any of the gas to escape. During a thermodynamics process, 200, space, j, o, u, l, e, s of heat enter the gas, and the gas does 300, space, j, o, u, l, e, s of work in the process.
What was the change in internal energy of the gas during the process described above?
Solution:
delta, U, equals, Q, plus, W, space, left parenthesis, s, t, a, r, t, space, w, i, t, h, space, t, h, e, space, f, i, r, s, t, space, l, a, w, space, o, f, space, t, h, e, r, m, o, d, y, n, a, m, i, c, s, right parenthesis
delta, U, equals, left parenthesis, plus, 200, space, J, right parenthesis, plus, W, space, left parenthesis, p, l, u, g, space, i, n, space, Q, equals, plus, 200, space, J, right parenthesis
Our convention is that the heat Q will be a positive number if heat enters the gas, since it increases the internal energy of the gas.
delta, U, equals, left parenthesis, plus, 200, space, J, right parenthesis, plus, left parenthesis, minus, 300, space, J, right parenthesis, space, left parenthesis, p, l, u, g, space, i, n, space, W, equals, minus, 300, space, J, right parenthesis
The convention we use is that the work is a positive number if work is done on the gas, since that adds energy to the gas. But since in this problem work was done by the gas, we plug in a negative number for the work done, since this subtracts energy from the gas.
delta, U, equals, minus, 100, space, J, space, left parenthesis, c, a, l, c, u, l, a, t, e, space, a, n, d, space, c, e, l, e, b, r, a, t, e, right parenthesis
Note: Since the internal energy of the gas decreases, the temperature must decrease as well.

### Example 2: Heating helium

Four identical containers have equal amounts of helium gas that all start at the same initial temperature. Containers of gas also have a tightly fitting movable piston that does not allow any of the gas to escape. Each sample of gas is taken through a different process as described below:
Sample 1: 500, space, J of heat exits the gas and the gas does 300, space, J of work
Sample 2: 500, space, J of heat enters the gas and the gas does 300, space, J of work
Sample 3: 500, space, J of heat exits the gas and 300, space, J of work is done on the gas
Sample 4: 500, space, J of heat enters the gas and 300, space, J of work is done on the gas
Which of the following correctly ranks the final temperatures of the samples of gas after they're taken through the processes described above.
A. T, start subscript, 4, end subscript, is greater than, T, start subscript, 3, end subscript, is greater than, T, start subscript, 2, end subscript, is greater than, T, start subscript, 1, end subscript
B. T, start subscript, 1, end subscript, is greater than, T, start subscript, 3, end subscript, is greater than, T, start subscript, 2, end subscript, is greater than, T, start subscript, 4, end subscript
C. T, start subscript, 4, end subscript, is greater than, T, start subscript, 2, end subscript, is greater than, T, start subscript, 3, end subscript, is greater than, T, start subscript, 1, end subscript
D. T, start subscript, 1, end subscript, is greater than, T, start subscript, 4, end subscript, is greater than, T, start subscript, 3, end subscript, is greater than, T, start subscript, 2, end subscript
Solution:
Whichever gas has the largest increase in internal energy delta, U will also have the greatest increase in temperature delta, T (since temperature and internal energy are proportional). To determine how the internal energy changes, we'll use the first law of thermodynamics for each process.
Process 1:
\begin{aligned} \Delta U&=Q+W \\ \Delta U&=(-500\text{ J})+(-300\text{ J}) \\ \Delta U&=-800\text{ J} \end{aligned}
Process 2:
\begin{aligned} \Delta U&=Q+W \\ \Delta U&=(+500\text{ J})+(-300\text{ J}) \\ \Delta U&=+200\text{ J} \end{aligned}
Process 3:
\begin{aligned} \Delta U&=Q+W \\ \Delta U&=(-500\text{ J})+(300\text{ J}) \\ \Delta U&=-200\text{ J} \end{aligned}
Process 4:
\begin{aligned} \Delta U&=Q+W \\ \Delta U&=(+500\text{ J})+(+300\text{ J}) \\ \Delta U&=+800\text{ J} \end{aligned}
The final temperatures of the gas will have the same ranking as the changes in internal energy (i.e. sample 4 has the largest increase in internal energy, so sample 4 will end with the largest temperature).
delta, U, start subscript, 4, end subscript, is greater than, delta, U, start subscript, 2, end subscript, is greater than, delta, U, start subscript, 3, end subscript, is greater than, delta, U, start subscript, 1, end subscript and T, start subscript, 4, end subscript, is greater than, T, start subscript, 2, end subscript, is greater than, T, start subscript, 3, end subscript, is greater than, T, start subscript, 1, end subscript
So the correct answer is C.